Barely Human
by uzumae
Summary: Within the supernatural world, there was one distinctly famous creature that had originated from the West and was now feared throughout the world. It was a creature that feasted on human blood, used sharp fangs and had glowing red eyes. Up until this unusual encounter, Rikuo had never thought that he would one day meet one of the famed Western yokai species. Vampires. (Rikuo x OC)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nurarihyon no Mago**

 **A/N: this occurs after the Hagoromo Gitsune Arc and before the Hyaku Monogatari Arc, so it's that empty time in between that this fanfic happens in**

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Kiyojuji's Paranormal Investigation Squad had officially gained a new member several days ago and there was something unusually intriguing about her, Rikuo thought, the young commander relishing in the tranquility that his little inner-house garden gifted him with. As he sat upon the branches of his beloved sakura tree and peered out at Tokyo's nightlife, his free-spirited mind wandered to the thought of the new student that had arrived in the middle of the semester not too long ago from Europe. With Hagoromo Gitsune finally defeated and Yura cleaning things up back in Kyoto, Rikuo's life had fallen into a comfortable routine that did not contain much excitement aside from preparing for the upcoming final battle against Nue. That was until the mysterious new student came along. Despite being a foreigner, she had apparently learned Japanese prior to her transfer and was able to speak the language fluently.

Anna Tepes.

With skin as pale as snow, hair the shade of platinum blonde and deep violet eyes, Tepes–san was truly a beauty to behold. However, appearances aside, there was something else that intrigued Rikuo about the foreign new girl. She looked perfectly human and sensed like any other human, but there seemed to be something inhuman about her that Rikuo couldn't quite pinpoint. Perhaps it was the way she carried herself or the way she was unusually intelligent, but he could never know for sure.

" _A Westerner, huh_ ," he silently mused.

Languidly, his crimson eyes shifted their focus to the room diagonally across from the tree he was resting on. The traditional paper doors reflected no silhouettes and the lights had been turned off, which meant that his friends had already fallen asleep. Rikuo sighed, mentally reprimanding himself for finding such difficulty in saying 'no' to his friends.

Last week, Kiyotsugu had run out of paranormal things to investigate and instead opted for an abrupt club retreat at none other than Rikuo's gigantic, haunted mansion. Truth to be told, it was nothing but a simple slumber party and Rikuo had no choice but to agree and succumb to the troublesome duty of ensuring that every one of his clan members stayed hidden within his friends' stay. This brings us to where he is tonight, sitting on his sakura tree, monitoring his friends' room and thinking of their new club member. Surprisingly, despite being new, Tepes-san had still agreed to come to stay over at Rikuo's house.

Suddenly, a faint nose caught his attention and he turned to the room where his friends were sleeping. The door had been slid slightly open and out of the darkness, Tepes-san stepped out of the room.

" _Where is she going this late at night?"_ Rikuo thought to himself, " _The restroom?"_

Barefoot, the girl stood on the porch in front of the room as a gentle breeze blew by for a few moments before taking a seat by the edge of the porch. It wasn't until her pale hand moved that he realized she had been carrying something in her hand. She brought the plastic pouch filled with a red liquid closer to her face and pulled out a straw that she stuck into the plastic. As she sat there, facing the traditional Japanese garden, she peacefully drank the substance within the pouch with a content sigh and gazed at the intricate architecture of Rikuo's home appreciatively. For a moment, Rikuo could almost swear that he had seen her eyes flash a dangerously scarlet red color.

" _Cranberry juice? She has some odd taste. Perhaps it's a European thing_."

Thankfully, she hasn't noticed me, Rikuo noted, still staring at the girl from his spot on the tree. It wasn't until a few minutes later when Tepes-san was nearly finished with her drink that his enhanced yokai senses picked up a scent in the air.

" _Something… metallic?_ " his eyes shifted to the black-haired girl on the porch, " _And it's coming from… her direction._ "

His stare was broken when the girl shifted her gaze swiftly and made direct eye contact with him. Bewildered, Rikuo's eyes widened, but he did not break away from her violet gaze.

"You can come down now, Yokai-san," she smiled lightly, "It's not very polite to be staring so much at a girl from afar now, is it?"

Rikuo remained composed as he calmly hopped down from the sakura tree, "You know what I am?"

Tepes-san pulled away from her drink and licked her lips, "It was a small guess, but you only proved me right. No wonder the house felt like it was filled with yokai. You do seem familiar though."

"How so?"

The girl paused for a few seconds before she chuckled slightly.

Amused, Rikuo raised his brow at the strange girl who seemed to show no fear despite talking face-to-face with a powerful yokai, "Is there something funny?"

"I was kidding," Her violet eyes shone with small hint of mischief, "I know who you are, Nura-kun. The emblem on your back shows you are from the Nura clan. If you wanted to truly go under disguise, your human side should've changed the last name. The emblem and the fact that I have a classmate named Nura Rikuo with a familiar scent to yours make it perfect fitting pieces to the puzzle."

Scent…? He had been right. At this point, there was no way she was an average human being. Rikuo wondered to himself as his earlier surprise faded away and he stepped towards the girl.

"Who exactly are you, Tepes-san?" his baritone voice deeply contrasted with her fairy-like tone as the moon peeked from behind the clouds to illuminate his features more clearly.

"You can simply call me Anna," she took a sip from her drink again before turning back to Rikuo, "I'm your new classmate and club member from Europe."

"Let me rephrase that question so that you can understand what I had meant, Anna," Rikuo took another step closer to her until he was directly in front of her, " **What** exactly are you?"

"You don't believe that I'm human?" Anna's question was met with Rikuo's silent answer, "Well, at least I tried to hide myself, but seeing how it has only been a week or so and somebody has already found out, I suppose I'm not doing a very good job at it."

"So you aren't human."

Anna moved her hand so that the plastic pouch she had been drinking from was held in front of Rikuo, "Take a sip and you'll understand what I mean."

Reluctantly, the young commander grasped the pouch out of Anna's hand and sipped cautiously from the straw. The moment the liquid touched his tongue, a metallic taste exploded in his mouth and the familiar scent flooded his nose.

" _This is… human blood..!_ "

Before Anna could blink, Rikuo had flung the nearly empty pouch to the ground beside him and used his hands to pin her hands down on the wooden floor of the porch with a loud thud. Hovering above her, Rikuo observed how Anna's violet eyes turned into a deadly red and fangs barely peeked out from her slightly parted lips.

There was one distinctly famous mythological creature that had originated from the West and was now known throughout the world. It was a creature that feasted on human blood, used sharp fangs and had red eyes. Rikuo had never thought that he would one day meet the famed Western yokai species. Vampires.

Searching Anna's eyes for some sort of fear in a situation such as this, Rikuo found none and was instead met with her gentle voice, "I apologize if I had surprised you. There is no need to worry – I didn't kill any human for that. I stole the blood pouch from a nearby hospital."

His grip on her hands tightened, "Are you a threat to humans or the Nura clan?"

"No," her scarlet eyes gazed up at him with determination, "I have no intention to bring harm upon any humans or any member of the Nura clan, especially you, Nura-kun."

Rikuo held onto his grip for a few more seconds, ensuring that Anna's expression was genuine, before he let go of her completely. To her surprise, rather than walking away, Rikuo shifted his position and sat next to her on the porch. Propping herself up on her elbows, she blinked at the young commander in confusion before sitting up as well and allowing the silence of the night to swallow them both up.

"Rikuo is fine."

Anna turned to him at the sudden break of silence, "Huh?"

His crimson eyes lazily glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, noticing how her eyes were back to their normal color – violet, "You don't have to call me Nura-kun. Rikuo-kun is fine."

Slightly stunned at the quick change of demeanor, Anna hesitantly replied, "Alright then, Rikuo-kun."

"So you're one of those, hm?" his sharp eyes tilted back to her in an enchanting way, "Vampires? I've always thought they were just human fantasies, but I suppose that's the case for yokai here as well."

"Sort of. To be exact, I'm a dhampir – a vampire human hybrid. We have the same abilities as a normal vampire such as supernatural strength, speed, intelligence, senses and the like, but we aren't as sensitive to sunlight and we can survive on just human food. However, it's always nice to have human blood once in a while – it's extremely delicious and nutritious for us," Anna ended with a small chuckle.

"You're half human? No wonder you sensed like a human."

"Yes, my mother was a human and my father was a vampire. My father was killed by an exorcist when I was still an infant and my mother recently passed away from cancer, so I came to Japan to start over and see what it's like here."

"An exorcist must be like the Western equivalent of onmyouji here then. I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's alright," Anna brushed away a stray strand of her blonde locks as another breeze passed by, "Anyway, it's quite nice here. I blend in well and your human friends are very kind, Rikuo-kun."

At the mention of his human friends, Rikuo glanced back behind them to the room where his friends were staying, ensuring that they were all still sound asleep, before closing his eyes in thought and letting a small smile grace his lips, "Yeah, they're quite a rowdy bunch."

"So what about you?" she looked up at him, "What's your explanation for your human side?"

"I'm the Third Head of the Nura clan and I'm ¾ yokai and ¼ human, which means that I can only maintain my yokai form – this form – during the nighttime. During the daytime, I'm the brown-haired Rikuo you always see at school."

"I see," she hummed, "That's interesting."

The two slightly human teenagers fell into a comfortable silence as the conversation came to a slow end. As they sat quietly on the porch, they watched as the sakura petals fluttered down from the tree in the middle and reflected on the sudden revelations they both came upon.

" _He has a petal in his hair…_ " Anna thought as she stared at the top of Rikuo's head, focusing on the pale pink petal that gracefully landed on his silver strands, while Rikuo's gaze remained towards the garden.

"Oi, Anna"

She jumped at Rikuo's sudden words, "Y-Yes?"

"Are you strong?"

"…I suppose, being a dhampir and all."

Abruptly, Rikuo rose from his seat on the porch and stood facing the girl, towering over her, "Then become my ally. Join my Hyakki Yako."

Anna peered up at him, taken a back, as the sakura petal fell from his head at Rikuo's sudden movement, "Excuse me?"

"Japan is not as peaceful as it seems," Rikuo determined stare didn't break away from Anna's, "A very powerful being called Nue is being resurrected soon and with his followers, he is planning on wrecking that peace. I'm building up the strength of the Nura clan for the upcoming battle with Nue. So I'd like your help."

"Why would you trust me? You only met me several days ago."

"You said you were strong."

"That's all?"

"Yep," Rikuo smirked at the girl, "I'm a free-spirited yokai. That's the kind of a yokai that a Nurarihyon is. I do what I want and what I want right now is you."

If Anna didn't have the composure and control that she did, she would've swooned right then and there. Rikuo's smoldering gaze and charming words would've been too much for any girl.

" _It should be a crime for this boy to be this attractive_ ," Anna mentally scolded herself as she fought the blush that was slowly making its way to her pale cheeks.

"…Okay."

Rikuo raised a brow at her brief answer.

"I mean that I'll help you," she replied in a quiet voice, "But I'm not exchanging _sakazuki_ with you. I don't like to be bound to anything."

He smiled at the slightly blushing girl, "Good answer. You live alone, don't you?"

"Yes, why?"

"In that case, how about moving in to stay in the main house?"

Taken aback, Anna stared at him with a slightly incredulous expression, "You're asking me to move in here?"

"Yeah," Rikuo shrugged, "You agreed to being part of my Hyakki Yako and to fight alongside me, so that means you're now a member of the Nura clan. You don't have any family to take care of you either, and you're already here anyway. I don't see a problem with it."

Anna remained silent, contemplating her options.

"In the morning, you can just stay behind when the rest of our human friends leave, and then I'll introduce you to the rest of the clan. I'm sure they'll welcome you well. After all, the Nura clan often takes in yokai they believe are strong and loyal to us," he went on to explain, attempting to further persuade Anna.

After a long silence, the young dhampir finally sighed and spoke, "Alright. It does make sense for me to move in here."

"Great," a lazy smile stretched out on Rikuo's face, "You'll like it here, I promise. We're all one big family, and you can be a part of that too."

At his words, a contemplative frown appeared on Anna's face. The word 'family' evoked a strange sensation in her as she thought back to her dead parents and her solitary lifestyle since their deaths.

"I'll see you in the morning, newbie," Rikuo stood up and gave a gentle wave before disappearing in a flurry of black mist.

"Strange kid," Anna muttered to herself.

Thus, within the span of one night, Anna found herself gaining a new position, a new home and a new family as a Nura clan member. Leaning back, she closed her eyes in thought, pondering on what new events might happen now that she had joined this strange Japanese organization.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: just to clear things up, anything typed in _italics_ are thoughts of the characters; hope you enjoy the new chapter! **

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" **In the cherry blossom's shade**

 **there is no such thing**

 **as a stranger."**

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As the morning light replaced the night's darkness, the Nura mansion was purged of the usual eerie atmosphere it possessed during the hours of the moon. Along with the departing of the night, Rikuo's cheerful human friends from the Kiyojuji Paranormal Investigation Squad also took their leave from the house early in the morning after their last-minute slumber party, disregarding the fact that their new member, Anna Tepes, had stayed back; that was something Rikuo was grateful he didn't have to cough out an excuse for. While the rest of the squad bid their goodbyes to Rikuo and his human mother, Anna lingered in the guest room as she once again became a victim to the thoughts in her head.

Was it really okay to make such an impulsive decision to join the Nura clan?

But then again, she didn't have anywhere else to go or anything left to lose.

She might even find a new family if she believed what Rikuo had said the night before.

Suddenly, the wooden door slid open roughly and pulled her from her thoughts as a familiar young girl poked her head into the guest room. Anna recognized her as Tsurara, one of her classmates. Judging from the fact that she was comfortably wearing her home clothes in the Nura mansion and that she was unusually protective of Rikuo, Anna came to the quick conclusion that Tsurara must be a yokai as well.

The yuki onna let out a small sound of surprise at the sight of the blonde girl who was still in the room. In return, Anna countered the reaction with a blank stare and attempted a tiny smile.

"A-Anna-san! You're still here?" Tsurara chuckled nervously, obviously not having expected the girl to be there.

"Yes," Anna smiled. She opened her mouth to try and think of a plausible excuse, but closed it when she decided that was Rikuo's responsibility instead.

"Tsurara?"

Just on time. The familiar higher voice of Rikuo's human form interposed the awkward interaction between the two girls and his distinct head of brown hair appeared in the doorway as he looked back and forth from Anna to Tsurara through his trademark glasses.

"Wa- I mean, Rikuo-kun! I didn't realize Anna-san was still here," Tsurara greeted the boy.

"It's alright, Tsurara," Rikuo offered a reassuring smile, "She knows."

"Huh?" the yuki onna blinked as she took in his words, "Eh?! W-Wait, but why?"

Instead of an explanation, Tsurara received a vague answer from Rikuo.

"I'll explain later. Could you please gather everyone in the dining room and I'll tell everyone about the news – Jiji included."

Tsurara gulped, what possible news could her young master be talking about? And why would it involve this foreign girl they had only met a few days ago? What in the world is going on?

With a thousand questions brimming in her head, Tsurara weakly replied, " _Hai_ , Waka."

As the snow maiden walked away, Rikuo stepped into the room where Anna had been observing the exchange between the two silently.

"What a surprise," Anna noted, "I didn't know Tsurara was a yokai as well."

"Yeah, she's actually one of my personal attendants. She's been very close to me ever since I was a baby."

Anna looked up and down at the small stature that the human Rikuo possessed as she spoke. Despite Rikuo still being taller than her in this form, it was hard to imagine that this small human was the same man that had made her blush only a few hours ago, "That's sweet."

"Well, I said I was going to introduce you to the clan as a new member, wasn't I? Let's head to breakfast and I'll tell everyone there."

As the young dhampir paused, Rikuo noticed her hesitation.

"Are you regretting your decision now?"

"No," she frowned to herself, "I was just thinking about some things."

Rikuo gave her a small grin in reply and Anna somehow found that soothing.

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The dining room was overflowing with chatter from all the curious, mischievous yokai of the Nura clan as they pondered to themselves what the Third Head must need to tell them about so early in the morning. Kubinashi was thinking the same thing as he stood by one of the walls in the room while absentmindedly watching Kejoro serve breakfast to the smaller yokai. Over the years, he had developed a swelling pride in his chest for little Rikuo, who he had practically raised, and the young master never failed to surprise him, so it was not unexpected for him to be thinking through the possible things Rikuo might unveil to the clan. In the middle of the room, in a more prominent position, Nurarihyon sat lethargically and sipped his tea, waiting for his grandson.

When the doors to the dining room slid open, all the noise halted and the yokais' attention was instead centered on Rikuo as he entered the room.

"Morning, everyone!" he greeted cheerfully.

The Nura clan yokai were accustomed to seeing their master enter the room, but it was only when they spotted how Rikuo's other hand was holding the pale, feminine wrist of a girl that their eyes started to widen. It was even more surprising when the young master pulled in a beautiful foreign girl with delicate features along with him upon his entrance.

Rikuo, now aware of how the rest of his clan had fixated their gazes on Anna, went straight to the point, "I have news for you all."

Upon hearing that short phrase and inspecting the pretty girl Rikuo brought along with him, the Nura clan instantaneously misunderstood what Rikuo had meant. You could practically see it in their eyes as the gears clicked in their head. While Nurarihyon listened to Rikuo's words, he was brought back to a memory of Rihan bringing home a beautiful flower ayakashi out of nowhere, not unlike the situation right now, and proclaiming his marriage to her. At this memory, the sound of his teacup dropping to the floor echoed throughout the room and suddenly, everyone was screaming.

"Wakaaaa! I knew you had it in you!" Aotabo exclaimed excitedly from the back of the room.

"She sure is pretty!"

"Alright, you guys! The Nura clan's future is secure!"

"Way to go, Third Head!"

Karasu Tengu was seen starting to tear up with pride, "W-Waka! You finally decided to take my advice."

Anna and Rikuo slowly blinked. What exactly is going on…?

"W-What do you mean?" Rikuo spluttered, but his confused voice was lost in the sea of shouts that erupted from the clan members.

"Nooo, this can't be!" a certain yuki onna cried from somewhere in the room, "Waka is too young!"

"Aw, c'mon Tsurara," Kejoro retorted, "Age is just a number for us yokai!"

The Sanba Garasu landed in front of Anna and Rikuo as Kuromaru bowed respectfully, "We shall make preparations immediately, Waka."

"Wha-" and suddenly, Rikuo realized what his clan members were talking about. Talk of preparations, Karasu Tengu's advice and the Nura clan's future abruptly made sense to him. Of course, you could always count on these guys to misunderstand things for _that_. An embarrassed blush burst on his tan cheeks and he suddenly found his voice again.

"GUYS!" at the sound of Rikuo's loud shout, the room fell silent again, "I. AM. NOT. GETTING. MARRIED!"

" _Ohh_ ," With Rikuo's words, Anna also came to realize why the Nura clan yokai were behaving so strangely, but she had a much calmer reaction in comparison to Rikuo's as she thought to herself, " _so that's why they were acting like that… My, what a terribly awkward situation this has become._ "

Tsurara was the first to break the silence, her voice shaking with anxiety and slight relief, "Y-You're not?"

Rikuo huffed, "No. You guys have gotten it all wrong!"

Composing themselves once again, the Nura clan yokai sat back down, patiently waiting for their Third Head to clear things up – all while taking nervous glances at the unfamiliar girl. Several yokai coughed awkwardly in embarrassment of their _very_ public mix-up.

"This is Anna Tepes," Rikuo gestured to the blonde girl, who gave a small wave, "And I have recruited her as a new member of our clan."

The yokai were quiet as they processed this new information. From the back of the room, one of the smaller yokai spoke up, "Hey, isn't that one of Rikuo-sama's human friends?"

People started to nod at the yokai's words in consideration and frowns were shared across the room.

"Yes, she is one of my classmates," Rikuo cleared up, "But she's a half-human. Anna is a dhampir – a half human and half vampire. I'm sure you all have heard of that Western yokai species, right?"

Nurarihyon perked up at the word of a dhampir and glanced at the young girl. Never in his years would he expect that his grandson would be able to pick up one of those powerful things. Impressive.

With all this talk of her, Anna decided it was time to speak up for herself. Slowly, she stepped forward and allowed her eyes to morph into the usual red color that vampires were known for and a friendly grin emerged on her face – well, as friendly as you could get with sharp fangs flashing through her lips.

Guiding her eyes around the room and memorizing the new faces, she introduced herself, "Hi, everyone. As Rikuo has said, I'm Anna Tepes. It's nice to meet you all and I hope we all can get along."

Some of the yokai nodded reluctantly at her introduction and Rikuo took that as his cue to continue his explanation.

"I asked her to join the clan because we all know how arduous this upcoming battle with Nue is going to be as well as all the other challenges our clan might face in the future," at the mention of this, most of the yokai in the room turned solemn, "Anna's kind is known to be powerful, and we can use all the strength we can get, so why don't you guys say hello to our new member."

Nurarihyon let out a small chuckle and stood up to face the yokai in the room.

"Well, if she's not joining us as Rikuo's wife, she might as well join us as a clan member."

"Jiji!"

The room exploded into laughter.

" _Yeah, the Nura clan is definitely a unique bunch…_ "

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 **A/N: reviews are greatly appreciated! :)**


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